The Pandemic Atlas: AP’s comprehensive global look at how the virus upended 2020

By Staff of The Associated Press

In the year since COVID-19 surfaced, journalists for The Associated Press have produced an impressive array of stories documenting its grim march around the world. Conveying the extent of disruption and death wrought by the virus in 2020 warranted a marshaling of AP’s global resources, expertise and storytelling for a one-of-a-kind project: the Pandemic Atlas.

Profiles of 13 countries were included,marrying statistics on the number of infections and deaths with details that explained how each country was weathering the pandemic. The compendium became a clear and concise all-formats effort revealing how various nations grappled with the coronavirus, from Peru, where decades of underinvestment in public health led to mass infections to Japan, which has been spared the dangerous surges seen in the United States and Europe.

The package included six video stories from China, India, Italy, Spain, Brazil and New York,each character-driven and exclusive. Fresh photos were shot for the project,and some of the best images from each country were included. Each was laid on APNews so that the elements — graphics,photos, text and video — complemented each other.

400 A — Portraits made of medical pofessionals at Italian hospitals, photographed in March, at right, and eight months later, at left. – AP Photos / Antonio Calanni, Luca bruno, Domenico Stinellis

402 — At right, nurse Ana Travezano poses for a portrait at hospital Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 30, 2020. “The pandemic confirmed to me the value of my profession that I would choose again. I rediscovered the true value of life, that pathologies are unexpected, and that solidarity is a common value. Those portraits show the courage that never gives up.” – AP Photos / Antonio Calanni

416 — At right, intermediate care technician Claudia Accardo poses for a portrait at hospital Casalpalocco ICC in Rome, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 25, 2020. “In these eight months I realized how silly man can be. We health professionals risk our life every day in the ICUs and there are people who speak of conspiracy! Don’t call us heroes, protect yourself and help us not to die because of you. Now we all have somebody in our close circle who’s got it. And the circle shrinks every day. The best ‘thank you’ from you would be not to fall in the trench where we are fighting this battle for you. It was a surprise for me to see my portraits everywhere. I got many calls from friends and colleagues complimenting me and encouraging me and that made me realize I was doing something important not only for the patients but also for them.” – AP Photos / Domenico Stinellis

410 — At right, ICU head surgeon Gabriele Tomasoni poses for a portrait at hospital Spedali Civili di Brescia in Brescia, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and at left, Dec. 2, 2020. “They sent me a video of a patient returning home after months of hospitalization and 95 days of intensive care. A grandson was seen jumping around his 65-year-old grandfather in disbelief and happy to see him back home. Our work also serves this purpose. I believe that photography manages to more truthfully express the reality we have experienced. Thanks for your professionalism.” – AP Photos / Luca Bruno

407 — At right, nurse Martina Papponetti poses for a portrait at hospital Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 30, 2020. “Memories from these eight months just pile up. Handwriting on the back of a photograph I deliver to a patient, ‘we are with you, come on mom,’ she signals to get physically closer, her caress on my hand, a tear on her face. I leave the room, and stop outside the closed door. No one can make it alone. You learn to have (apparently) courage for two and to convey it with gestures and attention. You learn to rely on hope beyond science, to forgive yourself for promises made that could not be kept. You learn the value of a smile and of a hospital discharge, which until a few months earlier were obvious. Those portraits freeze a moment nobody wanted to associate memories with. Then came the gratifications, the messages of solidarity and strength from anywhere in the world and in any language. Banners along the hospital walls … perhaps today we too should be thanking whoever did it, because it made us feel less alone.” – AP Photos / Antonio Calanni

401 — At right, nurse Michela Pagati poses for a portrait at hospital Spedali Civili di Brescia in Brescia, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and at left, Dec. 2, 2020. “I will never forget the voice of the patients that I have been able to disconnect from the ventilators who, as their conditions improved, could call their families for the first time,” she said. Asked about the portraits taken in March, Pagati says: “They have given to me an anonymous notoriety that I love.” – AP Photos / Luca Bruno

403 — At right, electrophysiologist Luca Tarantino poses for a portrait at hospital Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 30, 2020. “I had to tell the son that his father had passed away. The greatest pain was when, a moment before, he informed me of the death of his mother too. Those March portraits tell me of a moment that lasted months and that I hope will never come back.” – AP Photos / Antonio Calanni

404 — At right, nurse Adriano Rodriguez poses for a portrait at hospital Casalpalocco ICC in Rome, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 28, 2020. “My mother is an anesthesiologist in Cuba; she used to work long hours, and some days she would come to pick me up at school and bring me along with her back to the operation room before going home. Italy accepted me many years ago and now as a Cuban-Italian citizen, I have a chance to give something back.” – AP Photos / Domenico Stinellis

405 — At right, nurse Lucia Perolari poses for a portrait at hospital Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and alt left, Nov. 30, 2020. – AP Photos / Antonio Calanni

406 — At right, head nurse Mirco Perruzza poses for a portrait at hospital Casalpalocco ICC in Rome, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 25, 2020. “I always carry with me the drawings that my little daughter does for me. It’s her way to encourage me, I can feel that. Especially in bad days in the ICU. I recall the exact moment when you took my picture. It was the end of the day, a tough day, but we were charged, hopeful, ready for everything. Today’s different, we know better what we have to deal with, but we are tired and don’t feel the support of the people as before.” – AP Photos / Domenico Stinellis

408 — At right, ICU head surgeon Sebastiano Petracca poses for a portrait at hospital Casalpalocco ICC in Rome, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 25, 2020. “Many times I feel powerless, our knowledge reveals to be useless and all you can do is just looking at somebody dying in the turn of a few hours. These photos really portrayed our feelings. A nurse got called by her sister, who had seen the portraits published in their native Ukraine. She was in sorrow for the sudden death of her sister’s colleagues in Italy. Fortunately we are all alive.” – AP Photos / Domenico Stinellis

409 — At right, nurse Francesco Tarantini poses for a portrait at hospital Spedali Civili di Brescia in Brescia, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and at left in Milan, Nov. 27, 2020. “I can’t forget the eyes of an ICU patient, Claudio, who I helped make a video call to his family, first and last, a few days before he died. When I see these portraits I can’t help but smiling if I think of some Cuban friends who were praying for our souls because they thought we had died.” – AP Photos / Luca Bruno

411 — At right, nurse Daniela Turno poses for a portrait at hospital Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 30, 2020. “What we are living through is like a tattoo. It will remain forever.” – AP Photos / Antonio Calanni

412 — At right, immunologist Marta Catoni poses for a portrait at hospital Casalpalocco ICC in Rome, March 27, 2020, and at left, at the San Camillo Hospital, Nov. 25, 2020. “As an immunologist I never thought possible that in my life I would have seen something like this here. Every time I tell patients they can go home I see in their eyes the reason why I’m a doctor. “I love these portraits, now that I work in a different hospital they bring back such memories from those days.” – AP Photos / Domenico Stinellis

413 — At right, hospital intake staffer Laura Orsini poses for a portrait at hospital Casalpalocco ICC in Rome, March 27, 2020, and at left, Dec. 4, 2020. “This virus has instilled our lives with terror, from the beginning. But I have hope. Hope that one day I’ll be able to tell my children I was there and lived it through. These portraits will be there as testimony of this hope.” – AP Photos / Domenico Stinellis

414 — At right, oncologist Alessandro D’Aveni poses for a portrait at hospital Humanitas Gavazzeni in Bergamo, northern Italy, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 30, 2020. “When his conditions deteriorated I had to meet the wife of a young man, a person with whom life had been cruel even before the COVID. He was practically blind and walked with difficulty due to complications from diabetes. I will never forget the loving and desperate eyes of that woman and the way she thanked me. Those portraits are a small window over the fear, the anguish, and the frustration I was living that very day for all to see.” – AP Photos / Antonio Calanni

415 — At right, nurse Daniele Rondinella poses for a portrait at hospital Casalpalocco ICC in Rome, March 27, 2020, and at left, Nov. 23, 2020. “On my first ‘covid’ day in the ICU, after wearing the protective gear for hours that I was not used to, I was going to faint. I had to look outside, through a closed window to keep myself together. The same happened to many of us. I like so much these portraits. You guys have made me feel part of a big team.” – AP Photos / Domenico Stinellis

In Italy, AP photographers revisited 16 medics whose portraits they shot in March,this time opting to shoot them in regular clothes as opposed to their hospital uniforms. The images were taken from similar angles so that the images provided an updated look at practitioners who had borne the brunt of the virus’ surge in Italy. Reproducing the portraits proved to be a difficult task for Domenico Stinellis,Antonio Calanni and Luca Bruno, who had to track down and coax some of the medics for the second shoots. Three of those medics told their stories on camera, and this video story was part of the Atlas project.

Ap 20174525832170 2000 — After a strict nationwide lockdown, Agustina Cañamero, 81, and Pascual Pérez, 84, hug and kiss through a sheet of plastic to avoid contracting the new coronavirus at a nursing home in Barcelona, Spain, June 22, 2020. As the couple broke into tears, Cañamero said that the couple had never spent such long time without physical contact in 59 years of marriage. – AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti

The combined global efforts resulted in a visually striking package that told stories in fresh ways and met customers’ needs. Text stories were all translated into Spanish, while the videos received Arabic and Spanish edits. The atlas is more than a one-day story: A social promotion campaign continues,with posts highlighting the project planned for the rest of the year. Each day,the project auto-updates the number of infections and deaths in each featured country.

The atlas was among the most-engaged AP stories last week, and AP’s video footage has received hours of airtime so far.

Ap 20348025120589 2000 — A blanket is pulled over the body of a patient after medical personnel were unable to to save her life in the COVID-19 unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, July 16, 2020. – AP Photo / David J. Phillip

None of this would have been possible without the dogged and authoritative work of AP’s field journalists around the world. Crucial to the project’s success were the months of planning and the stewardship of Europe/Africa News Director Anna Johnson and many others. The powerful digital presentation was overseen by global news and enterprise editor Raghu Vadarevu,video content was shepherded by executive producer Tanja Popovic and deputy international photo director Tony Hicks ensured the photos were compelling, while editors Kristin Gazlay and Jerry Schwartz worked closely with more than a dozen writers to bring the text stories to life.

“Thanks for your professionalism.”

Gabriele Tomasoni,ICU head surgeon,hospital Spedali Civili di Brescia, Italy

For an outstanding display of planning,teamwork,ingenuity,storytelling and presentation on the story that shaped 2020, the Pandemic Atlas — and the scores of AP journalists around the world who made it possible — are recognized with AP’s Best of the Week award.